How can we make parking smarter?

Believe it or not, the parking industry is getting smarter. For cities hoping to integrate more smart technologies into their infrastructure, smart parking is a brilliant way to monitor, manage, and monetize parking. As automated vehicles go from vision to reality, smart parking will become increasingly more necessary.

Works for drivers

Imagine being able to navigate not only to your destination, but directly to an open parking space, pay the parking fee with a tap, and know exactly where your car is when you are ready to leave. They will also be able to see special offers from local merchants they can take advantage of while they’re in the area. This is a win for local business.

No more waiting in line at the kiosk behind another driver that doesn’t understand how to pay the meter. No more endless searching for an empty parking spot. Better traffic flow because less cars are clogging up lanes slowly trudging along looking for an open space.

On the other side, drivers will face improved parking enforcement. So, if you grab a spot and don’t intend to pay for the duration of your vehicle’s stay, you can expect swift ticketing and/or towing. Code enforcement officers will have the ability to see exactly how long your car has been in that spot.

Looking forward, automated vehicles will certainly need a smarter way to determine not only where an open spot is, but to have the ability to park without being at risk of being out of code. No one wants their automated vehicle to pick them up with parking tickets all over its windshield. A smart parking system could one day be able to communicate with these vehicles and let them know where the nearest open spot is to that they can park, and give the driver the ability to feed the meter remotely using a mobile app.

Works for cities

Cities benefit greatly from smart parking technologies. Not only do they have improved code enforcement, but they can see, in real time, how parking habits are affecting the flow of traffic.

Cities would benefit from access to IPS’ product suite, including:

Smart single-space meters

Multi-space pay stations

Pay-station upgrade kits

Vehicle detection sensors

Smart cash collection systems

Mobile applications

Enforcement and permitting solutions

Hosted data management software with advanced data analytics

Cities that opt for IPS Group’s system will benefit from it being an all-in-one package solution. Its data management system is also set to get a major upgrade this summer. Not only does it connect with all of IPS’ solutions, but it adds modules, data intelligence, and a modern user interface to boot.

Having all of this under one umbrella makes it easier for cities to adopt and integrate these platforms into their overall smart city strategy. However, it also means that once everything is in place, it is more closely tied to that system, for better or for worse.

On the surface, it would appear that IPS Group is on the right track. Smart city technologies are supposed to make life easier for the citizens and the government, alike. Its integrated, cloud-based Smart Parking system is built to do just that.